Commentary Detail

March is National Reading Month. It’s less than two weeks away. How are you going to celebrate?

There’s no legal limit on the number of books you can buy – not in America, anyway. You can stagger out of a store loaded with six packs of books, and you won’t shock the neighbors. You can buy the books by the case.

You can even go on a book bender. No one will disapprove. Not even when they find you passed out with books piled around you.

Books have no calories. They won’t give you a hangover. For the cost of a fancy coffee loaded with whipped cream, you can have a new paperback.

For the price of a decent bottle of bourbon, you can have a best-selling hardback. Long after the coffee and bourbon are gone, you’ll still have the book – or the knowledge and enjoyment it gave you.

The police won’t arrest you if they catch you with an open book in your car – as long as you’re not reading it while you drive.

You can read books almost anywhere – on the beach, by the fireplace, in the bathtub. You can even take one before bedtime.

If you can’t afford to buy books, you can get them free at your library.

Best of all, you won’t have to worry if your children see you reading. It is true that books can be addictive. But this is one addiction you want to develop.

(The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of St. Louis Public Radio.)